Tragic consequences of riding without a helmet

This was shared with me by someone through facebook - It is from the Wiggle Blog.

It is Definately worth a read. Helmets DO save lives.


Wiggle is blessed with having a phenomenal group of customers and you never cease to amaze us with your dedication to sport. We are fortunate that we can get cyclists from all over the world out on their bikes, in their pools and on their feet. But with power comes with responsibility.
This is why when Danny Field contacted us with his tragic account about a cycling accident, we felt that it needed to be shared with you. It is an extremely stark reminder that a helmet may be only a simple piece of kit, but my goodness is it crucial for safety.

On the 23rd of September 2010 my two brothers, Mike and Jack Field went on a bike ride to help them get fit. Unfortunately the bike ride did not end well. As my brothers rode down a road, a bus was coming in the opposite direction. The bus stopped to turn right across the path of my brothers. The bus stayed still until they were nearly next to it then set off, smashing straight into my older brother Mike. Fortunately for Jack he was able to jump off his bicycle and just missed the bus, getting some cuts and bruises in the action of bailing off his bike.

My older brother Mike was not so lucky. He hit full force into the front of the bus; he cracked his skull, broke his hip, fractured his eye socket and broke his upper arm. He was taken to Hope Hospital in Manchester where he was in a coma for 8 days. Since this accident he has had to relearn how to talk properly and walk properly. His memory of past happy and fun times with family is very, very poor. He can no longer smell or taste anything and will never be able to. He had to have a craniotomy which is where they take away some of your skull to let your brain swell. Meaning he now has a titanium plate and a very large scar on his head. The sad part of this story is that neither Mike nor Jack were wearing helmets. If Mike had been wearing a helmet at the time, his injuries would have been dramatically reduced.

The full extent of the injuries from that day will never be known. It’s not only the person that the accident happens to that’s injured. I know my younger brother now suffers with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and is having counselling to help it. I still have nightmares about the accident that I do not even share with my better half. The effect that it had on Mike’s 2 young sons (3 months and 18 months at the time of the accident) will never be known. If we can stop this happening to just one other person, then we will have made a difference.

A helmet isn’t just a fancy piece of headwear. Yes, by all means go for the one with the nice colours and the extra shaping… but first and foremost just go for the one that you’ll actually wear – the one that you’ll use and that may one day be your saving grace.